PLAN TO BUILD NEW TRAIN STATION OKD

City Council members have cleared the way for a second train station on the east side of the city.

The council has approved by a 2-to-1 vote Metra's preliminary plans to build the second station on 23 acres adjacent to the tracks northwest of Pingree Road and Congress Parkway.

However, council members differed at their meeting Tuesday over the size of the parking lot stalls. The plan approved by council allows Metra to have parking spaces 8.5 feet wide, as opposed to the 9-foot spaces required by city code.

"I have a problem with that," said Councilman Howard Christensen, who voted against the plans. "I think that's too snug, especially for big cars."

But Clayton Weaver, director of technical services for Metra, said widening the stalls would result in 75 fewer parking spaces, reducing revenues by about $110,000 annually.

Metra officials do not intend to build the station for at least five years, as the project has no funding. The state-of-the-art depot would have a pedestrian tunnel under the tracks and raised platform where commuters would enter and exit the trains.

Metra representatives said they won't close the existing station downtown, since both are needed to accommodate the growth in ridership.